Charles Street fire A duplex at 13 Charles St. in Dover is seen on Saturday, Jan. 5, hours after it caught fire. (John Huff/Democrat staff photo)

DOVER — Firefighters worked quickly Saturday morning to knock down a fire on Charles Street that resulted in an estimated $75,000 worth of damage to a duplex home there.

Dover Fire Captain Troy Brown said the occupants were alerted to the fire by smoke detectors at 1:51 a.m. Saturday. Occupants of both sides of the building made it out without injury.

“We always like to point out, it's the best protection you can have for getting out of a building alive to have working smoke detectors,” Brown said.

The second floor of one unit of the duplex was destroyed, and the people living there were displaced, though residents on the other side of the building were able to return home, Brown said.

Fire officials believe the fire started accidentally, though an investigation is still underway.

Brown said crews knocked down the fire by 2:23 a.m. He said the speedy response was due in part to a resident who had thoughtfully shoveled out a nearby fire hydrant beforehand.

Brown stressed all Garrison City residents should consider shoveling out their hydrants to ease the fire department's response to emergencies.

“This is an opportunity to remind residents if a hydrant is in close proximity, they should help us out and get that opened up,” he said. “That obviously saves time and makes us more efficient as a unit when we show up.”

He also called it a "blessing” that the home that caught fire was located close to the South End fire station. Dover firefighters were already tied up responding to another medical call in the city when it broke out, he said.

With a recent rise in medical calls, the department has had to adjust to working with limited resources, and sometimes “the decisions you make in the first five minutes of a call set the tone for the next two hours," Brown said.

Firefighters from Durham, Somersworth, Rollinsford, Rochester and the Pease Air National Guard Base Fire Station provided mutual aid during the event.